Russia begins construction of mistral ship base

Russia began construction Tuesday of naval facilities to host Mistral-class helicopter carriers currently being built in France for the Russian navy.

The facilities will be located at an existing naval base on the shore of the Uliss Bay near the Far East city of Vladivostok.

The basic infrastructure will be finished by October 2015, while the base will be ready to host the ships by the beginning of 2018, Rear Admiral Sergei Avakyants, commander of Russia’s Pacific Fleet, told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during the construction inauguration ceremony.

Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the naval base’s quay would be extended to 2,700 meters to accommodate a 1,600-meter-long berth. He also said the water, electricity and communications systems would all be replaced.

“The ammunition-loading site will be drastically modernized, while access roads and railroads will be upgraded,” he said. According to the Defense Ministry, the Russian navy will receive its first Mistral-class helicopter carrier – the Vladivostok – from France on November 1, 2014.

A second Mistral-class warship, the Sevastopol, is due to be floated out at the DCNS shipyard in Saint-Nazaire in October 2014. Russia and France signed a $1.6 billion contract for two French-built Mistral-class helicopter carriers in June 2011.